Pong Prom: the Gamer’S Way of Asking Someone to Dance

December 17th, 2009 by: Lambert Varias

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Ed Keeble must be smitten with a fellow gamer, because there is no way that his gimmick would work with other people. The aforementioned gimmick is Pong Prom, and here’s how it works: “Participants don specially-designed hoodies and engage in a game of Pong by slow dancing with each other.” Oooookay. I love video games more than food and I still think this is a weird idea. Cute, yes, but also weird.

Each of the two hoodies is equipped with a Lilypad Arduino, a microcontroller specially designed for wearables and textiles. The Arduinos handle the gameplay, the display and the communication. The patches of conductive fabric on the hoodies serve to connect the Arduinos, while an accelerometer attached to the back of the neck makes the “engage in a game of Pong by slow dancing” bit possible.

Keeble is working on a how-to for the Pong Prom, so if you think this will impress your (prospective) partner, bookmark his website and be on the lookout for the guide. I hear Keeble’s next project will be Dance Dance Prom aka Dance Hero, where you’ll have to execute dance moves as they appear on your partner’s shirt’s screen. And yes, I just made that up.

[via likecool]